GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – Senior Alec Brown (Winona, Minn.) accomplished something on Saturday afternoon that had not been done by a Phoenix player in 25 seasons, scoring a career-high 40 points to lead Green Bay (8-3) to a 74-58 victory over visiting Fairfield in non-conference men’s basketball action at the Resch Center. Green Bay heads into its holiday break with three-straight victories and wins in five of its past six games.

Besting his career high by 12 points, Brown’s 40 points came on 12-of-17 shooting from the field and a 14-of-15 effort from the free-throw line. The senior made both of his three-pointers and added eight rebounds and three blocked shots in 33 minutes.

The 40-point game is the first by a Phoenix player since Tony Bennett scored a program Division I record 44 points on Feb. 11, 1989. Brown’s 40 points are the fifth-most in program history, five behind the school record of 45 set by Ray Willis against UW-Parkside on Feb. 9, 1971. Brown joins Willis and Bennett as the only Phoenix players to ever score 40 points.

Brown got off to a quick start on Saturday, scoring 10-straight points early to give Green Bay a 12-4 lead just six minutes into the game. He was 3-of-8 from the field with 12 points with seven minutes to play in the half, but made his last three shots to go into the halftime break with 19 points. Despite six Fairfield threes, the Phoenix led 34-27 at intermission.

In the second half, Brown scored the first nine points for the Phoenix, including a three-pointer with 16:23 remaining to match his previous career high of 28 points.

Fairfield trailed just 47-42 at the 13:46 mark, but a three-pointer by junior Keifer Sykes (Chicago, Ill.) and a dunk and three-point play by junior Greg Mays (Chicago, Ill.) pushed the lead to 11.

Putting the game away, Brown scored the first eight points of a 14-3 spurt that gave Green Bay its biggest lead of the game, 74-53, with 1:57 on the clock. With 3:03 to play, Brown drained a 17-footer off a dish from Sykes and checked out moments later to a big ovation and a career-high 40 points. He made his last nine field-goal attempts of the afternoon.

While Brown was the lone Phoenix player in double figures, sophomore Carrington Love (Milwaukee, Wis.) and junior Lamin Fulton (Philadelphia, Pa.) scored eight and seven points, respectively, off the bench. Sykes totaled six points, five assists and four rebounds, and sophomore Jordan Fouse (Racine, Wis.) added five points, eight rebounds and two steals.

The Phoenix defense held Fairfield to just 28.1 percent shooting from the field, including just 20 percent (6-30) from inside the three-point line. The Stags made 10-of-27 three-pointers and committed 19 turnovers.

Green Bay returns to the court next Saturday, Dec. 28, when it hosts St. Francis (IL) at 1 p.m. at the Resch Center. The Phoenix will then open Horizon League play on Thursday, Jan. 2, welcoming Cleveland State to Green Bay at 7 p.m.

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